⁍ Algeria’s 75-year-old President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is self isolating because some officials in ‘upper ranks of the government’ are sick with COVID-19.
⁍ Tebboune took office in December in an election that came amidst months of mass protests which forced his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power after 20 years.
⁍ Algeria has officially confirmed more than 55,000 cases of the coronavirus with nearly 2,000 deaths.
– Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has taken to Twitter to announce that he’s “self-isolating” because some of his “upper ranks” are sick with coronavirus, Reuters reports. “I assure you, my brothers and sisters, that I am well and healthy and that I continue my work,” he tweeted. Tebboune, 75, was elected president in December amid mass protests that forced out his predecessor, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, after 20 years in power. He has pushed for changes to Algeria’s referendum to limit presidential terms while expanding the powers of the parliament and judiciary. However, many people in the leaderless protest movement believe their core goals of replacing the old ruling elite and forcing the army to stay out of politics remain unmet. Algerians will vote in a referendum on the new constitution on Nov. 1, with Tebboune and the country’s powerful army generals seeking a high turnout in order to turn a page on the protests.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-algeria-tebboune/algerian-president-75-self-isolates-as-pandemic-spreads-idUSKBN2790OU